This invention concerns a shutter for a window, of the type comprising a rim on which a plurality of blades, also called louvers or Venetian blinds, are attached transversely.
The blades are suitable to be moved between a position wherein they completely prevent the passage of the light, and a position wherein they allow the light to filter, more or less partially, through the window.
The shutter according to the invention is applied to the windows of any room whatsoever, in an inside or outside position, and substantially functions both as a window frame and also as a blind or shutter.
The invention also concerns the method to fit a shutter of the type described above in correspondence with the window opening.
In the following description we will refer mainly to shutters made of wood, fiberboard or wood derivates, but it is obvious that the present invention is applicable to shutters made of any appropriate material also including PVC, foam based material, metal, etc.
In the field of window frames and furniture accessories, the state of the art includes the shutters which are applied to windows comprising a frame onto which a plurality of blades are applied transversely, adjacent and partly superimposed. The blades can be oriented by means of a simultaneous rotation on their axis to allow more or less light to pass from outside to inside the room.
The rim, normally rectangular or square and comprising uprights and cross-pieces, is usually anchored to a frame or box, attached to the masonry shoulders and traverses of the window opening.
These shutters are very much appreciated from a functional point of view, since they function simultaneously as a window frame and as a blind or shutters, and also from the aesthetic point of view, since it is possible to achieve very pleasant combinations of shapes and colors.
State-of-the-art solutions normally provide that the blades are moved by means of a rod, arranged transversely to the blades and attached to each one of them, normally located in a central position with respect to the shutter.
The shutters, which in most cases are made of wood or fiberboard or wood derivates, normally consist of a first type of profile with which the uprights of the rim are made, a second type of profile with which the cross-pieces of the rim are made, a third type of profile with which the outer box (which is anchored to the masonry shoulders and traverses) is made, and the blades with the relative drive rod.
A first problem connected with the production of these shutters is that it is necessary to store in the warehouse a large number of different pieces to be able to satisfy the requirements of different clients according to the pre-selected shapes and/or sizes of the shutter.
Other problems arise in the assembly step due to the limited versatility and flexibility of state-of-the-art profiles, which only allow univocal assembly positions; in general they are not able to overlap with any possible pre-existing rims assembled around the window opening, and they do not generally allow to diversify the assembly position of the shutter with respect to the masonry shoulders (flush, not flush, with a gap, covered, etc.).
A further disadvantage of state-of-the-art shutters of this type is that, in order to satisfy the clients"" diverse requirements regarding shapes, colors and sizes, producers generally supply the fitters with semi-finished elements which need finishing operations before and during the fitting.
These finishing operations, which comprise at least a trimming to size, both lengthwise and transversely, one or more smoothing steps and one or more painting or varnishing steps, affect to a considerable degree both the fitting times and the final cost of the shutter and also, in some cases, the quality of the final product.
Let us consider, for example, the difficulties of painting the blades when they are assembled on the shutter; this operation is necessary after assembly to prevent the blades from being spoilt or scratched during the operation to attach them to the rim, if they are already painted. Moreover, pre-painting is not possible in all cases: frequently, the profiles are subjected before fitting to a longitudinal trimming to adapt the section to the size and shape of the window where the shutter is to be applied.
Another disadvantage in the state of the art is that, to be able to adapt the height of the blades to the size of the window, either the value of the overlap between the blades has to be varied, or the part of the blades hidden behind the respective cross-pieces has to be exploited, since it is not provided to modify or calculate, according to the application, the pitch with which the blades are attached to the rim.
All these features have until now entailed high costs and a very limited versatility of this type of shutter.
The present Applicant has devised and embodied this invention to overcome these shortcomings, making it possible to produce a shutter which is extremely versatile, standardized in its essential components but completely able to be personalized according to individual needs, at a reduced cost and with simplified methods, also optimizing the management of the stock and therefore the overall production costs.
The invention is set forth and characterized in the respective main claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the main embodiment.
The main purpose of the invention is to eliminate the shortcomings of the state of the art in the production of shutters of the type described above, providing an extremely versatile product, adaptable to every requirement of a structural type, deriving from the conformation and type of the specific application, and of an aesthetic type, according to the taste and needs of the clients.
Another purpose is to provide a product which is extremely easy to assemble and install, so that the fitter does not have to carry out long and complex operations which considerably affect the final cost and the final quality of the product.
These and other purposes of the invention, as shown hereafter, are obtained thanks to a shutter which is characterized in that it has an outside assembly frame or box suitable to be anchored to the sides of a window opening, wherein the box consists of a plurality of profiles of equal section, substantially quadrangular, comprising on one side a coupling tooth with at least a supporting surface able to cooperate with a mating surface of a side defining the window opening and/or with a mating profile defining the rim of the shutter.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the rim of the shutter consists of profiles defining respectively the uprights and the cross-pieces, wherein at least the profiles defining the uprights have a substantially quadrangular section comprising, on one side, a coupling tooth with at least a first plane supporting surface able to cooperate with a mating profile defining the box of the shutter.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the profiles of the cross-pieces also have a section with a coupling tooth defining an identical plane supporting surface.
According to a distinctive characteristic of the invention, the profiles with which the outer box, the uprights and the cross-pieces are made all have the same section.
This characteristic is extremely advantageous both during the production step and also during the fitting step, since it allows to minimize the stocks in the warehouse and to supply the fitter with finished elements, which only need to be cut transversely to size, in order to be adapted to the size of the window.
Therefore, with this invention, the blades can be supplied already painted to the fitter who thus does not have to make longitudinal cuts or complicated painting or trimming operations before assembling and fitting.
The fact that finished elements are supplied, straight from the production plant, entails a considerable advantage both in terms of cost and in assembly times.
The fact that there are reciprocal coupling teeth, mating and cooperating, allows to obtain varied assembly solutions.
For example, it is possible to achieve overlaps between the rim of the shutter and the elements of the box such as to maximize the light entering from the window opening, and/or to eliminate anti-aesthetic interstices through which the light passes in the line where the shutter and box are coupled, or between the separating uprights of two adjacent shutters.